


Patience

by scullywolf



Series: TXF: Scenes in Between [169]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: (very brief mention), F/M, Gen, Introspection, Missing Scene, Mulder's stupid brain disease thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-21
Updated: 2017-06-21
Packaged: 2018-11-16 23:30:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11263269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scullywolf/pseuds/scullywolf
Summary: It's going to take some getting used to, doing this job without him.





	Patience

She has the foresight to set up call forwarding so she doesn’t miss out on the cases that get called in directly to his home number. For her trouble, she’s rewarded by her phone ringing at 6:00 on Monday morning.

“Hello?”

“Er… hello, I’m looking for Agent Mulder?”

“He’s on a leave of absence.” She’s glad she thought to practice that one; she almost manages to get it out without her voice cracking. “This is his partner, Dana Scully. What can I help you with?”

“This is Agent Marley Sampson at the Salt Lake City field office. Local authorities up in Burley, Idaho just called in a murder, and it sounds like a pretty weird one.”

Okay. Nothing like jumping in with both feet. She can do this.

“All right, Agent Sampson. What can you tell me about it?”

“You’re… you’re Agent Mulder’s partner, you say? Do you mind giving me your badge number?”

She stifles a yawn and tries not to be offended. It’s reasonable protocol; the Bureau isn’t exactly thrilled about sharing case information with civilians. Still, she might need to do something about the fact that Mulder’s name is the only one that comes up in the directory when agents need to contact the X-Files. 

“It’s JTTO331613. Do you mind giving me yours, Agent Sampson?” she asks, purely on principle. He’s the one giving her information, after all, but it’s worth making the point that she doesn’t know who he is, either.

“Uh, sure. Let me just…” She can hear him typing over the phone, no doubt verifying that her badge number matches the name she has given him. “Right, thanks for your cooperation, Agent Scully. My badge number is JTTO347922.”

She grabs the notepad and paper from her bedside table and jots it down. “Thank you. Now, you were saying?”

“Older couple, murdered in their home, no sign of forced entry. Actually, the husband was killed on the front porch, real violent. Sheriff’s deputies couldn’t find an obvious weapon, said it looked like the man had been attacked by an animal. Lots of bite wounds.”

 _But if they thought it was really an animal, they wouldn’t be calling you_ , Mulder’s voice in her head chimes in. 

She frowns. _I know that, Mulder. I’ve got this._

“But it didn’t entirely look like an animal attack, either?”

“That’s the thing. Usually with something like a wolf or a mountain lion, you would expect to see a lot more destruction inside the house, where the wife was attacked. Also things like tracks, scat, fur and the like. There wasn’t any of that.”

“So no obvious weapon, but very violent deaths. Inconclusive evidence for either a human- or animal-perpetrated attack.”

“Exactly. The local LEOs are stumped, but the way it sounds… Well, I’m just not sure we’ll have any more luck than they’ve had. I figured Agent Mulder might have the sort of expertise needed for this case. But if he’s on leave, I guess we can--”

“I’ll get a flight out this morning,” she interrupts. “If you would email me copies of the crime scene photographs and any other information you have about the case, I would appreciate it.”

“Sure thing. I’ll have the Sheriff’s office pass that along directly.”

“Thank you. You can reach me on my cell number if there are any developments.” Thank goodness for electronic directories.

“Will do. Thanks for your help, Agent Scully.”

“You’re welcome, Agent Sampson.”

She hangs up the phone and rubs her eyes. She didn't sleep very well, and her alarm’s not even supposed to go off for another half hour, so she is in for a challenging day. Ultimately, though, it's good they have a case right away; at least she and Agent Doggett won't spend their first day working together just sitting awkwardly around the office. 

_You're gonna treat him to a slide show at least, right?_ her mental Mulder proxy offers.

Scully grimaces. _Shut up, Mulder._ It’s a complicated thing, being hurt and angry with him for keeping his illness from her, while also missing him so badly that it’s hard to breathe sometimes.

But yes. As soon as the email with the crime scene photos comes through, she will forward it to the imaging lab and call in a request to have the photos converted to slides. It would feel wrong not to.

With a groan, she gets up out of bed. These travel arrangements won’t make themselves.

**Author's Note:**

> I've decided the only way the timing works in this episode is if planes just fly faster in the fictional _X-Files_ universe. Say it's only 3 hours from DC to SLC (instead of nearly 5), and then they grab a charter flight directly to the Burley municipal airport instead of driving. That's the only way they're getting to the crime scene by 11am Mountain time. (And lbr, planes flying faster in TXF would explain a LOT of the ridiculously improbable timing on the show just in general, hehe.)


End file.
